


False God

by Izzyface



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternative Universe - No Island, Angst, Blow Jobs, Dirty Talk, Escort Service, F/M, Friends to Lovers, NSFW, Oral Sex, Sex Work, Smut, Story told out of order, Verdant, paying for sex, sort-of friends?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:01:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzyface/pseuds/Izzyface
Summary: She is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, tied up in an enigma. And Oliver wants to solve her.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 102
Kudos: 238





	1. Table of Contents

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in a LONG, LONG time. Like 2+ years. But I saw a piece of porn (yeah, for real) that inspired me... and I've done a lot of reading lately, so this sort of harkens back to some things that [chasethewind](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind), [Bre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bre/pseuds/Bre), and ... (there's one more the fic where both Oliver & Felicity are sex workers and they hook up with each other?, but I can't find the link) have written before. 
> 
> So this story is out of order. And this definitely takes place in the middle, or beginning/middle. I guess I'm saying this COULD HAVE multiple chapters? We'll see. I don't want to put any pressure on myself. Writing is hard when you work 60+ hours each week.
> 
> I've been listening to a lot of Taylor and Lana Del Ray lately. Hence the title(s).
> 
> All mistakes are mine. My beta gave up on me a long time ago.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A table of contents for those who want to read the story in order.

[Dancing In the Dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/55429465#workskin) \- First Meeting 

[How You Get the Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/55429018#workskin) \- First Meeting + 3 Weeks 

[National Anthem](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/54416854) \- Plus-Three Months 

[Interlude 1 ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/57264961) \- Plus-Five Months

[We Found Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/56129755) \- Plus-Six Months

[You Know I'm No Good](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/55008601#workskin) \- Plus-Eight Months 

[Fix You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772998/chapters/56301463#workskin) \- Plus-Eleven Months 


	2. National Anthem

* * *

“Do you trust me?” he asked. 

Oliver knew the answer to the question. _Of course she didn’t_. They were strangers who hooked up, but there was… something between them. Something that kept him coming back despite sleeping with her five… ten… twenty times. It was the same thing that had him turning down his other regular hook ups and calling her instead. 

Felicity looked back over her shoulder at him, a smart remark on the tip of her tongue. There was no way she was letting him fuck her without a condom. Not a manwhore like Oliver Queen. That’s when she saw the phone. “What’re you doing with that?” She resisted the urge to pull her t-shirt down over her hips. 

He’d already pulled her g-string to the side and started to slide his dick through her nether lips. She felt so fucking good. Oliver couldn’t wait to feel her gripping him again. “Can I film it?” 

“What?” She batted at the hand with the camera. “No!” Felicity pulled her hair around her like a curtain. “I do not want to end up on the internet as one of Oliver Queen’s conquests.” 

Oliver couldn’t wait any longer. He _had_ to be inside of her. The phone was momentarily forgotten, as he pushed against the small of her back and slid his cock inside of her. He lifted his hips twice and then laid back. Oliver looked at the phone again. “I wouldn’t let that happen.” 

She lifted her ass and then slid back down. One of his hands was on her hip, and the other was tracing a path up and down her spine. She could feel him touch each vertebrae through her t-shirt. “Don’t you think we should have talked about this before you were inside of me?” 

“I tried,” he gasped. He knew she was intentionally squeezing him in punishment. Oliver groaned. “If you keep that up—” 

Her smile was wicked. “I’m not doing anything.” 

“Witch.” He stilled the movement of her hips and worked to regain control of his body. It’d been a long time since he’d wanted to explode within five minutes of sliding inside of someone. But she… this blonde-headed temptress who filled his thoughts both day and night?... she was different. He wanted to cum, have her suck him hard again, and then fuck her into the mattress just so he could cum again. 

But he wasn’t a barbarian. So he let her set the pace with the flex of her hips as he watched his cock slide between those delicious ass cheeks. Then he noticed… “Is that Minnie Mouse on your panties?” 

Felicity laughed. “Yeah, so?” She looked back over her shoulder at him. “Do you have something against Minnie?” She swirled her hips and he was struck speechless. 

When they changed positions, she was facing him and she pulled her shirt up above her breasts. Oliver loved her breasts. They weren’t too big and weren’t too small, and his hands covered them perfectly. And she was so responsive when he took a nipple into his mouth, between his teeth. That caused her to pull on the strands of hair at the back of his neck… 

He felt his cock start to swell again. Oliver closed his eyes and started mentally reviewing the books at Verdant. He needed more time. 

When he opened his eyes, she was staring down at him. Her shirt was still up, and her right hand was stroking a nipple. “Give me a hand?” 

He reached up and covered the left. Together they twisted and tugged until her nipples could cut glass. Oliver leaned up and covered one, then the other, with his mouth. He took them between his teeth, biting and sucking at the sensitive skin. Her moans were like music to his ears. 

The tingle at the base of his spine told him he couldn’t wait. “I’m going to cum.” She scrambled off his lap and laid across the bed, legs akimbo. Oliver pushed Minnie to the side and took a mental picture. Her pussy lips were slick and swollen and waiting for him. He pushed back into her hard, and didn’t let up. His mouth went back to her breasts and he nipped and sucked the sensitive skin there. 

Felicity lowered her mouth to his ear and licked. “You feel so fucking good inside of me, Mr. Queen… Such a big boy… I love it when you fuck me hard like this.” She bit the outer shell and soothed it with her tongue. “Harder, Mr. Queen.” 

“Call me…” he stuttered. His cock expanded and filled the condom with his spend. “Oliver,” he sighed. 

He could feel her shaking beneath him, but Oliver wasn’t in his right mind to tell if she was cumming or if she was just trying to make him feel good. His body felt weightless and his mind was blank. When he came back to himself, Oliver was aware that she was rubbing her hand up and down his naked back. He was soft inside of her. “‘M sorry,” he mumbled. 

“It’s okay.” Felicity sighed. She hadn’t minded his weight. It was actually comforting. 

He pushed himself up and gestured toward the bathroom. Once there he quickly disposed of the condom and washed himself off. He brought another washcloth into the bedroom for her to use. “Here.” Oliver grabbed his boxer briefs and pulled them on. 

She smiled at him. “Thanks.” She tried not to squirm as he watched her clean herself and replace her skirt. Felicity pulled down her shirt and pulled on her jacket. “If you don’t need anything else, then I guess I’ll get going?” 

This was the part she hated. 

“Yeah, okay.” He reached for his pants and pulled out his wallet. Inside was the ten $100 bills he’d gotten from the bank earlier that day. “Like we agreed.” 

Her smile that time was forced. “Right, thanks.” She stepped up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The money went into her jacket pocket. “I guess I’ll see you at Verdant, then.” 

Oliver nodded. “Yeah.” He stepped back. “Oh, hey, do you think next time—” 

Felicity stopped and looked at him. “Next time?” 

He shook his cell phone at her. “Do you think next time I could…?” 

She sighed. “I meant what I said, I don’t want to end up on the internet as one of Oliver Queen’s conquests.” 

“I don’t want that either,” he agreed. “But I’d really, really like to…” Oliver took a step closer. “Have something to look back on. To help me out when you’re not… around.” 

The blonde looked up at him. The problem was that he was so stupid handsome and charming and he knew how to get his way. He’d probably been doing it all his life. But still, she didn’t want to end up online starring in his sex tape. 

“I’ll double what I usually give you,” he offered. “If you let me film it.” 

“I’ll think about it,” Felicity finally agreed. “I’ll need to see if I can write a program to make sure your phone can’t be—” She cut herself off, but it was too late. “Forget I said any of that. I’ll think about it.” 

He wasn’t going to forget what she said, but he was smart enough to not bring it up again. Felicity Smoak was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and any time she slipped up and gave him a glimpse of her real self was something he was going to take advantage of. “So I’ll see you at Verdant?” 

She nodded. “Yep.” Felicity pulled her jacket around her tighter. “I really need to go.” 

Oliver stepped aside and watched as she walked to the door. “See you.” 

She looked back over her shoulder at him. “Bye, Mr. Queen.” 

The door closed behind her. 

“Really, you should call me Oliver,” he told the empty room. 


	3. You Know I'm No Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver visits Felicity at a club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously I decided to continue. I have the next bit plotted out, just need to find some time to write it. Anyway, much thanks to Bre & some others who encouraged me to continue. It's always great when some of your favorite authors leave inspiring comments on your work.
> 
> Again, any mistakes are mine.

* * *

_Chapter 2 - You Know I’m No Good_

It wasn’t often that Oliver made it to Verdant before 6 o’clock on a weeknight, but it was Friday and he’d left his day job at Queen Incorporated early for once. It’d been six days since he’d seen Felicity, when they’d argued over an offer he’d made her. She’d stormed out, and he’d hoped after a day or two she’d settle down and come to her senses. But she hadn’t responded to any of his calls or texts. 

Coming by Verdant was a last resort for him. It’d been one of their rules when they stopped _just fucking_ and moved into this not-quite-relationship they had going on. Felicity asked that he not come to his own nightclub when she was working. As much as he loved seeing her in short dresses and tight skirts, she was there to entertain the clientele and having a possessive quasi-boyfriend glaring holes in them did not bode well for business. 

But Felicity _always_ worked on Fridays, so Oliver knew he could spend a few hours on the books in the club office while she worked, then they could leave together around midnight, and work out their issues at his penthouse. At least that was the plan. 

Except Felicity wasn’t on the schedule when he checked. She wasn’t on the schedule for Saturday either. Or for Thursday, the previous day. Or the Wednesday before. 

Maybe she’d been sick and called out for the entire week…? 

He fished his cell phone from his pocket and pulled up her contact information. So far he’d sent her 17 unanswered texts. What was one more? 

**Oliver, 6:40:** @ Verdant, see that you’re not working… Sick? Can swing by with soup & supplies if you want. LMK. 

He waited for a reply, but one didn’t come. At some point she’d turned off her read receipts, so Oliver wasn’t even sure if she was _seeing_ his messages. He pocketed the phone, and stood from the desk. Suddenly he had no interest in the books or the club. 

He’d have to do them eventually, since payroll was due, but it was no longer the pressing issue it’d been before. Oliver dropped his jacket in the chair and went to make himself a drink at the bar. If he was lucky Tommy or Sara would be around to tell him what happened with Felicity’s schedule. 

Neither of his friends were downstairs, but Roy was behind the bar getting things prepared for their 9 o’clock opening. He was cutting limes and filling garnish trays. Oliver slid onto a stool and nodded towards the younger man. “Roy.” 

“Oliver.” He glanced at his boss and girlfriends brother. “Didn’t know anyone else was here.” 

“I was in the office doing payroll.” He eyed the younger man. “Can you make me an Old Fashioned?” 

Roy shrugged. He washed his hands and pulled down the supplies. He’d never really spent time with Thea’s brother, but now was as good as time as any. In case this was a test, he carefully measured the alcohol and paid attention to the pour. When he was finished, he slid it across the bar. “Here ya go.” 

Oliver took a sip and sighed. “‘S good. Next time don’t be so stingy with the whiskey. Be stingy with the customers, Roy. Not the guy who signs your paycheck.” 

“I’ll remember that.” 

“Do you know anything about the women who work as hostesses around here?” Oliver asked. He studied Roy, gauging his answer. 

“A little?” Roy swallowed. “I’ve gotten to know some of them.” 

“What about Felicity?” 

Roy smiled. “Yeah, I know Felicity. She’s cool.” 

“Hmmm.” Oliver took another swallow of his drink. “Do you know why she’s been off the schedule this week?” 

“I think she took another job.” The younger man caught a dark look flicker across his boss’ face. “Actually, I know she took another job. I saw her on Monday, and she said she’d just left a meeting with Tom—Mr. Merlyn explaining why she couldn’t work here anymore.” 

Oliver clenched his fist. “Do you know why she left?” 

“She said it was an uncomfortable situation.” Roy frowned. What was he supposed to say? That he knew the club owner and hostess had been fucking for eight-plus months, and when the boss offered her the world on a platter, she turned it down? Nope, he wasn’t getting in the middle of it. 

“If it helps, she took a job at Poison.” Roy reached for Oliver’s empty glass. “Tonight is her first night.” 

“Poison as in Max Fuller’s club, Poison?” Oliver cursed when Roy nodded. “I can’t go there.” He took out his phone and did a quick Google search. “This says… it’s a strip club?” 

“I already had that conversation with her.” 

“Fuck.” Oliver pressed his speed dial key for his bodyguard. When John Diggle answered, he barked, “I need you back at the club, ASAP. Arrange for someone else to be with my mother at the fundraiser tonight.” He hung up abruptly. “Roy, I need another drink. Scotch, neat.” 

Diggle arrived 30 minutes later, and Oliver was nursing his third glass of Scotch. The more he sat and thought about Felicity taking her clothes off for men to see, the more upset he became. 

She was his. He was the only one who got to see that. 

It was bad enough that her job at Verdant put her in the company of other men every night, but this was too much. 

“What’s the emergency, Oliver?” Diggle asked. 

“I need you to take me to Poison.” 

“Oliver.” The bodyguard was well aware of the fight his charge had with his girlfriend the weekend before, but a visit to a strip club wasn’t going to solve their problems. And a visit to a strip club _without_ Tommy Merlyn to blame it on? “C’mon man, why don’t I take you home?” He looked around the club for Tommy or Thea. “Or back to the Mansion.” 

“No.” Oliver shoved his phone in his pocket. “Take me, or I’m going without you.” He started toward the door. 

“You should go with him,” Roy told him. “Felicity is working there now, and he said something about not being allowed to go there?” He shook his head. “He’s serious, by the way. About going without you.” From his vantage point, he could see Oliver on the phone with someone. “Dollars to donuts, he’s calling another car right now.” 

Diggle sighed. “Shit.” 

Oliver was out of the car before Diggle put it into park at Poison. He didn’t have a plan or an argument or really even a reason. Felicity was in there and he needed to talk to her. He’d seen her red MINI Cooper in the parking lot and he was willing to wait all night if necessary. Right now he didn’t care if Max Fuller had him arrested. He wasn’t leaving until he spoke with Felicity. 

He paid the cover charge for both him and Diggle, and walked into the dark club. The music was loud, and some girl who wasn’t Felicity was on stage dancing to Amy Winehouse. Oliver went to the bar, a hundred dollar bill in hand, and held it out to the bartender. “You have a new girl starting tonight. Petite, blonde hair, blue eyes. Not sure what name she’s using, but her real name is Felicity Smoak. I need to see her.” 

The bartender waved off the bill. “Sorry, no can do.” 

Oliver pushed the bill forward again. “Tell her it’s Oliver. She’ll want to see me.” 

“I know who you are, Mr. Queen. I also know you’re not supposed to be here. I’m not sure why you were allowed entry.” The bartender nodded toward security. 

“Really, you’re gonna have me kicked out when I’m only here asking about one of your dancers?” 

“He’s having you kicked out because I have a no douchebag policy.” Oliver turned to him Max Fuller standing behind him. “You have a lot of nerve, Queen.” 

“I’m just here to speak to Felicity, Max.” He could feel Diggle step up beside him. 

“You’ve been told she’s unavailable.” Oliver ducked half a second before a fist connected with his face. A second later, Max hit the floor and Diggle was shaking his hand out. 

“I’m going to find Felicity. Can you hold them off?” 

Diggle sighed. “You have five minutes, Oliver.” 

Max’s club wasn’t set up any differently than the million other gentleman clubs Oliver had been inside. The employee area was behind the stage, and Oliver used the distraction Diggle was causing to sneak back there. Each dancer seemed to have her own dressing room, and Felicity was in the third one he checked. 

She was sitting at a vanity when he snuck in and locked the door behind him. “Oliver! What’re you doing here?” 

“Me? What’re you doing here?” 

Felicity shook her head. “I’m not having this conversation with you, Oliver. You need to leave.” 

“No. Not until you tell me what I did wrong.” He took a step forward. “You have to give me a chance to fix it, Felicity.” 

“There’s nothing to fix. We were just fucking, Oliver.” She refused to look at him in the mirror and continued to apply her make-up. 

“That’s not true, and you know it.” He ran his hand down the back of her shoulder. “It was never true.” 

“You gave me money, I gave you sex. I was a prostitute, Oliver.” The blonde took a deep breath. “There’s no need to bring personal feelings into this.” 

“I never treated you like a prostitute.” 

“Oh really?” She whirled around to face him. “You offered me a condo in one of the most exclusive apartment complexes in the city, rent free. You offered to pay for me to go back to school after I told you about not finishing my degree and wanting to work in IT one day. You offered me a monthly _allowance_. All so we could keep _fucking_.” Her voice broke on the last word. “But you don’t think you ever treated me like a prostitute?” 

The room was quiet until his phone started vibrating in his pocket. When he pulled it out, Oliver was unsurprised to see Diggle’s name on the screen. It’d been much longer than five minutes. It was time to go. But there was no way he could leave without responding to her statement. 

“You’re right,” he agreed. “I shouldn’t have offered you any of those things. I should’ve asked you something, instead.” 

“Oliver,” she sighed. 

“I should’ve asked you to marry me, Felicity.” 


	4. Dancing In the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity meet for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been blown away by the support this has received so far. This chapter got away from me a little bit. 
> 
> Also, the dress Felicity is wearing can be seen [here](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/550565123167712004/). 
> 
> Again, all mistakes are my mistakes. Thanks.

* * *

_Chapter 3 - Dancing In the Dark_

Oliver was annoyed. 

Despite a discussion and agreement less than a month ago, Tommy hired a new girl for Verdant without any notice. And now Oliver had to forego his Friday night plans to check her out. 

Not that he had Friday night plans. But they’d _agreed._ He and his nightclub manager agreed no more new girls for at least six months. 

Yet, he’d been forced to cancel his Saturday morning brunch with his mother to leave the office early on Friday night. It hadn’t gone over well. 

Tommy also hadn’t told him anything about this new girl, including her name, so he didn’t know what to expect. He ordered Italian for the sit down in his office. She’d like Italian, probably. Everyone liked Italian. 

But what kind of wine? What should he wear? 

There was always the miniscule chance he might want to have sex with her, so should he have cash on him? Did that mean he needed to go by the bank?

He and Tommy _did not_ trade in prostitution. However, Verdant did make very, very high end escorts available to their clientele. The clientele who all paid a yearly fee in the six figures to be members at the nightclub. They had a very strict rule about sex on the premises. If caught, the member was suspended for three months the first time. And the escort was fired on the spot. 

What any of his employees and club members opted to do once they left Verdant wasn’t his business, however. And Oliver wasn’t exactly innocent. He’d hooked up with more than one of their current escorts. 

Helena. 

Marissa. 

Melanie. (That was after she left Max Fuller at the altar, despite what some people think). 

Arianna.

And there had been others over the years. But he was done with that now. He’d been in a bad place when he and Laurel Lance broke up for the final time and made some poor decisions, but it’d been over a year since he’d been with anyone. 

After his father died and he was forced to take the reins of the family company, Oliver took a long look in the mirror and decided it was time to change his ways. His reputation as the playboy billionaire was fine when he was a nightclub owner, but as the CEO of Queen Incorporated, he needed to clean up his act. QI employed one third of the city in some capacity, and almost one million people worldwide. Those people deserved an adult to lead them, not an overgrown teenager who thought it was okay to party all night and then play pretend CEO all day. 

Not to mention his own family. His mother was devastated at his father’s death, despite their distance in his last years. And his sister was a teenager who needed someone to take charge of their family. Thea needed someone to keep going, or else she was going to end up on the wrong track. Now she was a freshman at Starling City University, which he never imagined possible a year ago. 

Oliver opted to wear his gray Hugo Boss suit, without a tie. It was slim cut and he knew he looked good in it. By the time he got to Verdant it was after 7, and Tommy told him she would arrive at 8. That would give them an hour to talk before the club opened. 

He’d already ordered the food and pulled two bottles of wine from their collection at Verdant (one red, one white) to chill in his office. He grabbed glasses and napkins, plus silverware to take upstairs too. 

Tommy wasn’t there yet, but that was no surprise. The new bartender he’d hired—Ron? Rob? R-something—was behind the bar with Sara, getting ready for the night. Oliver nodded at him. Sara gave him a big grin. “Hey Ollie.” 

“Sara.” He walked over and she sat a whiskey double in front of him. “Thanks.” 

“You looked like you needed it.” Her eyes raked over his suit. “Big night?” 

“New girl.” Oliver drained the glass. “Tommy hired her.” 

She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen her. She’s cute. Body to die for.” 

“Hmmm.” He looked down the bar where the new guy was slicing limes. “How’s the new guy?” 

“Roy is fresh meat. Doesn’t have any annoying habits he’s picked up anywhere else, yet.” Her eyes twinkled. “I’ll be the first to break him in.” 

Oliver laughed. “We both know you don’t swing that way.” 

“I may prefer girls, but there are some people I make an exception for.” Her hand covered his. “You doing okay?” 

He nodded. “I’ve just been busy.” He turned his hand over so their palms were flat against each other. “And thanks. I might take you up on that some day.” 

Sara’s smile was genuine. “I should get back to work. You want another drink before I go?” At his nod, she refilled his glass. 

Oliver turned on the stool, his eyes trained on the door as he sipped his drink. He could hear Sara instructing Roy on how she liked the bar cleaned and organized. The kid didn’t say much, and Oliver didn’t know if he was listening or not. If he wasn’t, then he wouldn’t make it around here long. While they had other bartenders, Sara was the one they relied on the most. She was the one the escorts and clients loved. 

Oliver was also aware of the cleaning staff and others setting the club up for another night of potential debauchery. When the heavy metal door opened at 7:50, Oliver stood and prepared to introduce himself. But he deflated when he realized it was just the doorman with the food delivery. 

“Boss? You order from Positiano’s?” the big man asked. 

“Yeah.” Oliver slipped his wallet from his pocket and fished out a hundred dollar bill. He passed it to the delivery man. “Thanks. Keep the change.” He looked at the doorman. “I’m expecting a woman in the next few minutes. Potential new girl. Have Sara show her up to my office.” 

“Sure thing.” 

Oliver took his drink and the food and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Once in his office, he unpacked the food, and then took his time plating everything. He’d ordered her chicken alfredo and himself chicken parmesan. Both dishes were basic enough that they could switch if necessary. He set the wine glasses out, along with salt and pepper. He’d just finished preparing the table when a light knock came. 

“It’s us,” Sara called. She pushed the door open. 

His eyes immediately flew to her companion. Next to Sara was a petite blonde wrapped in a tight red dress. Her black heels added at least three inches to her height, but Oliver was certain he could still tuck her beneath his chin. “Uh, hi.” 

“Hi.” She held out her hand to him. “I’m Felicity Smoak.” 

Her voice was husky. Immediately he wondered what she sounded like post-coital. _Stop it._

“Hi, Felicity.” He took her hand. Oliver could feel tiny calluses on the tips of her fingers and immediately wanted to know where she got them. “I’m Oliver Queen.” 

“Oh, I know who you are. I mean, you’re Mr. Queen! You run Queen Incorporated.” She blushed pink and wrinkled her nose. “Three, two, one… Sorry.” 

“Oliver,” he told her. He glanced up at Sara. “I think we’re good here. Could you have Roy bring me up another drink? And we’re not to be disturbed after that.” 

Sara’s grin was lascivious. “I understand, boss.” She closed the door. 

He moved to the side and gestured to the table. “I got us some food. I hope you like Italian?” 

“I do. Everybody likes Italian, right?” 

Oliver laughed. “That’s what I thought. So you choose what you want, and I’ll grab the wine.” He went to the mini-fridge and pulled the two bottles he’d chosen earlier. “I have a 2006 Henschke Hill of Grace and a 2007 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet. Your pick.” 

Her eyes popped. “Mr. Qu—Oliver,” she shook her head. “Both of those are too much. I love wine, but each of those cost hundreds of dollars. I couldn’t possibly—” 

“You can,” he interrupted. “The club has already bought and paid for both of them, so just pick which one you want.” 

Felicity bit her lip. She looked down at their dinners. “I know you’re supposed to have white wine with chicken, but I really really love red wine. I pick the Henschke.” 

“Excellent.” He sat the bottle she chose on the table, and returned the other to cooler. Oliver seated himself across from her and used a corkscrew to open the bottle. He carefully filled both of their glasses. “So you like red wine.” 

“I do.” She reached for a slice of garlic bread. “Probably too much.” Felicity frowned. “Not that I have a drinking problem, because I don’t. I drink a normal amount. But I’ve been known to kill a bottle of wine after a bad day. Then, who hasn’t? Oh god, why can’t I shut up?” 

“Hey, relax.” She was so utterly charming and he was instantly smitten with her. “So you don’t have a drinking problem, but you like red wine.” He glanced down at her plate. “You prefer chicken parm to chicken alfredo. You like garlic bread. Anything else?” 

“Mint chip. I love mint chip ice cream. If I’m addicted to anything, that’s probably it.” 

“Noted.” Oliver began to cut his food and eat. There was a knock on the door and then Roy opened it. “Yes?” 

Roy thrust a glass forward. “Sara sent me up here.” 

“Thank you, Roy.” 

“Sure thing, boss.” He shuffled his feet. “Do you need anything else?” 

“Has Tommy arrived yet?” 

“He’s downstairs.” 

“Tell him I need to speak to him.” Oliver glanced at Felicity. “Not now. But before I leave tonight.” 

“Got it.” Roy pulled the door closed. 

“Where were we?” Oliver took another bite of his pasta. “Mint chip?” 

“Can I ask you a question?” Felicity moved the food on her plate around. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.” 

“How did you get into this business? With the escorts?” She bit her lip. “I mean, at first, after I met Tommy I thought that it didn’t suit him so it must be all you… but now that I’ve met you, it doesn’t really suit you either.” 

He shifted in his seat. Oliver had expected this to come up, just not this quickly. “Verdant has been open for five years. Tommy and I opened it because we saw a need, we both knew what was happening out there, and we wanted to make it better.” 

“Make it better?” 

“There was an escort service in Starling City prior to us. It was very much the standard service that you would expect: a man would contact the business to arrange a date, a woman or in some cases a man, would be sent out on the date, and then the money would be collected by the head of the business and only a percentage of it was paid to the escort. Even though they were doing a majority of the work. 

“Tommy and I wanted to do our business differently. A majority of the dates happen in the club, we pay our escorts each week, and the men or women who are members pay us a flat rate either monthly or yearly. It also makes it safer for the workers involved.

“If our clientele need a date for an outside event, then we provide security in the form of a driver slash bodyguard for the escort. The cost is covered, of course.” He took another sip from his wine. “Tommy and I both think it makes things safer for everyone involved.” 

“And what about sex?” she asked. 

“We don’t promote prostitution,” he answered automatically. “If one of our escorts arranges to have sex with someone she meets here, it happens outside of the club. Verdant _is not_ a sex club.” 

“I see.” She reached for another piece of garlic bread. “But you don’t actively discourage it?” 

Oliver shrugged. “Tommy and I decided a long time ago we couldn’t control it, so why should we discourage it? However, if it’s happening on premises it will get you fired.” He took another bite of his food. “Can I ask how you got into this line of work?” 

“Life happens. I’m from Vegas, by way of Boston. Some things I thought would go my way, didn’t. So here I am.” 

“Here you are.” Oliver watched as she tipped back her wine glass. So far she’d eaten two slices of garlic bread and moved her food around to make it look like she’d eaten. “Do you have experience as an escort?” 

“No.” Felicity gave him a smile. “After I left Boston, I moved back to Vegas very briefly. I worked as a… dancer for about three months while I took care of some family things there, just to support myself.” 

He knew she meant stripper, but Oliver wasn’t going to make her say the word. The family things she was referring to were obviously fresh and obviously painful. He recognized the look on her face. “So this would be a new situation for you?” 

“Yep.” She popped the last sound. Her smile faltered. “I can see what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong.” 

“What am I thinking?” he asked. 

“That I can’t hack it here. But if you give me a chance you’ll see that I’m quick on my feet and I’m smart and funny. Men like me. Women like me. I have no problem adapting to new situations.” 

Oliver leaned forward. “Are you indicating you are willing to entertain men _and_ women?” 

Felicity shrugged. “Why not? Besides, I’m generally attracted to a _person,_ not their gender.” 

Damn, this woman was hot. He reached for the drink Roy had brought him and drained it in one swallow. “Are you finished eating? 

“Yes, why?” 

Oliver stood and held out his hand. “It’s time to go downstairs.” 

He let her go down first, just so he could watch as her body moved beneath that damn dress. It was hypnotic. Two different colors of red, lines running it different directions, and her left shoulder was bare. Plus, walking behind her let him get the first good glimpse of her ass. 

And what an ass it was. An ass that connected to solid thighs that he wanted to feel wrapped around his head as he… 

Shit, he needed to get laid. And soon. 

Oliver led her to the bar. Felicity had come down with a full glass of the Henschke, but Oliver needed a drink. He asked for a glass of tonic water. All the whiskey was starting to go to his head. If he was going to get out of here tonight, he needed to keep his wits about him. 

He showed her the table that was kept open for him and Tommy and they people watched for awhile. Felicity was able to keep up a steady stream of conversation, make casual notes about everything and nothing. Roy came by once to check on them, and Tommy dropped by to see how it was going. 

Oliver still needed to talk to him in private, but he was leaning towards giving his approval for hiring Felicity. He’d been making a mental pro/con list all night, and while there were things on the ‘con’ side, none of them were serious enough to not hire her. He was concerned she didn’t have previous experience as an escort, but so far she’d navigated around it. 

When Tommy left, Felicity turned to him and asked, “Do you want to dance?” 

“I don’t dance.” 

She pouted at him. “Please.” 

He shook his head. “Go enjoy yourself. I’ll watch.” This would be part of being an escort, too, he reasoned. She needed to be able to entice her own client base. That started now. 

Oliver watched as Felicity grabbed Sara and dragged her out onto the dance floor. A song with a heavy beat started and the two of them began a slow, sultry dance of entwined arms and legs. From his seat, Oliver could see that Sara had slid one leg between Felicity’s thighs and that his companion was pressed as close as possible to the bartender. They were of similar height, and it looked like they were simulating sex on the dance floor. He felt his cock harden in his pants. He needed a closer look. 

By the time he got down there, Sara had turned Felicity and was running her hands up and down the sides of that sinful red dress. Felicity’s eyes were hooded, her head back on Sara’s shoulder. Sara’s thigh was still between Felicity’s legs. From here, he could see the little movements she was making. “Come join us, Ollie.” 

Sara reached for him, and he was pressed against Felicity’s front. He could feel her warm exhales against his cheek, along with her sighs of pleasure. His hands joined Sara’s in exploring. When he hit the edge of the dress on her thigh, he slipped a finger up under it. Was it his imagination, or did that cause Felicity’s breath to hitch? Her weight shifted from Sara towards him, and Oliver took it easily. 

“I need to get back to the bar,” Sara explained. “Roy can’t run things for long.” 

The heavy bass continued to surround them. Oliver knew they were in the middle of the club, but it felt like they were alone. He could _smell_ her. His cock was starting to ache. 

He leaned down to her ear. “How much?” 

“What?” Her eyes were glassy with arousal. 

“For tonight. How much?” he repeated. “I want you.” Oliver shifted so that his stiffness rubbed against her stomach. 

“I’m not a prostitute, Oliver.” 

He felt his face turn red. “I know that. And I’m not hiring a prostitute. I’m hiring _you._ But I’m being realistic here, too. I can’t offer you anything, Felicity. This is just a one night thing, and I want to make sure you get something out of it. So let me pay you.” 

She stared at him, her eyes wide. Was he for real? “A thousand.” 

“Dollars?” At her nod, he said, “Okay. Done.” Oliver leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was quick and couldn’t be counted as a real kiss. “Go wait at the bar while I get some things from my office.” 

Thirty minutes later, they were walking into a suite at the Starling Grande. Oliver watched as Felicity looked around, her mouth slightly open in awe. “This is too much.” 

He tossed his keys, wallet, and phone on a table. “It’s nothing.” He withdrew the money he’d taken from Verdant’s safe and handed it to her. “Here.” 

She put the envelope into her clutch. “Thanks.” Felicity looked up at him. “What do you wa—” He cut her off with a kiss. 

Oliver framed her face with both of his hands and took her bottom lip between his. He sucked on it gently until she opened her mouth for him. When she did, he dipped his tongue into her mouth. 

She tasted different than he expected. The red wine and garlic lingered, but underneath he tasted a hint of cherries and something else sweeter. He broke away and kissed down the side of her face to her ear. “You taste like cake.” 

Oliver placed lingering kisses down the side of her neck and sucked on her collarbone. He was careful to not leave a mark. Everything about her was sweet. “Can’t get enough.” 

She reached forward and grabbed him by the belt buckle. “Let’s find the bedroom in this place.” Felicity pulled him towards the back of the suit and pushed him into a room where a king size bed was the centerpiece. 

The blonde pushed him down onto the bed. She stepped forward and kissed him on the mouth. “I want to see what I’m working with here.” Felicity pushed his suit jacket off and began to unbutton his white shirt. While she’s doing this, Oliver continued to press kisses along her naked skin. “You’re not making this easy.” 

“Didn’t know I was supposed to.” He reached her right shoulder. Oliver reached back and unzipped her dress enough that he could pull the shoulder strap down. When he saw the red lace bra she’s wearing, Oliver lost all train of thought. “Beautiful.” His mouth attached to a nipple straining through the lace. “You are stunning.” 

Felicity gave up trying to get his shirt off. The feelings he was stirring within her were different than she expected. One hand went to the back of his head and the other went to her neglected nipple. “Oliver,” she sighed. 

He reached around and unhooked her bra, freeing her breasts. Oliver took them in his hands and buried his face between the satiny skin. He could smell the sweat and her perfume she must have used earlier. He flattened his tongue and licked up to the nipple he ignored earlier. Felicity bucked in his mouth. His free hand traveled down to her hip to steady her, and then further to the edge of her dress, then back up her naked thigh. “You feel so good.” 

“Mmm.” Felicity forced her eyes open to look at him. “I want you in my mouth.” 

His eyes widened at what she was saying. “Come again?”

“Before we fuck, I want you in my mouth.” She smiled at him. “Okay?” 

Oliver was suddenly grateful he’d abstained from sex for a year plus. He’d have no difficulty cumming at least twice tonight. “Okay,” he readily agreed. “If you’re sure.” 

Felicity looked him up and down. “I’m sure.” She leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Get naked.” 

He stood and reached for his belt buckle. “Take off your dress.” 

They watched each other undress. Oliver removed his slacks and boxers, along with his socks and shoes, and laid everything neatly over a chair in the corner. Felicity finished unzipping her dress, and went to step out of her shoes. “Leave them,” her companion ordered. She let the dress drop to reveal a pair of red underwear that was essentially just lines of cut fabric. 

“Sit on the edge of the bed.” Felicity waited until he was seated, legs akimbo, before she grabbed a pillow and kneeled before him. 

He was already hard, precum leaking from the tip. “You have a nice cock,” she observed. The blonde measured it using the palm of her hand. “Long, definitely thick.” She looked up at him. “But do you know how to use it?” 

He grinned. “You’re going to find out.” 

“So I am.” Felicity leaned forward and licked the precum. “Hmmm. You even taste good.” She swiped her tongue up the side. “Not that that surprises me. You obviously pay attention to what you put in your body.” She opened her mouth and covered the head, her hand wrapping around the base. 

Oliver swore when she started swirling her tongue around him. Fuck, she was good. She was really good. He closed his eyes and started to mentally review QI statistics, as he wasn’t ready for this to be over. Felicity pulled back with a pop. 

“You know, you can grab my head, buck your hips, whatever.” She licked the palm of her hand. “I don’t mind.” 

He tentatively wrapped her hair in his hand and started to guide her head. Oliver wanted her to take him a little deeper, but he didn’t want to choke her. What she was doing felt amazing, but it could… he pressed down and she opened her throat. “Fuck,” he shouted. 

Felicity pulled back and wiped his precum from the corners of her mouth. “It’s been awhile since I’ve used those muscles. Wasn’t sure I could still do that. Let’s see what else you like,” she taunted him. Her tongue traced the vein on the underside of his cock and she pressed his cock up towards his belly. 

Was she going to…? She was. 

She wrapped her mouth around one of his balls and sucked. Oliver felt his eyes roll to the back of his head. The other got the same treatment. “I’m gonna cum.” His voice was hoarse, so he didn’t know if she heard him. 

Her mouth returned to his dick and she started eagerly sucking him, pulling the orgasm from him. Oliver couldn’t feel anything but her hands on him and her mouth and her tongue. 

“Gonna cum!” he warned her again. If she didn’t want his spend, then she needed to move _now._

She didn’t move and his orgasm rocketed out of him. Oliver held her head still as he shook with relief. He couldn’t remember a time he’d ever felt some good. He’d pay $1,000 for her to suck him off like that again. Forget the sex, that blowjob was worth the money. 

When he finished, he fell backwards on the bed. His head was free for the first time in months. He was aware of Felicity in the room, moving around. He felt her pick up his limp dick and wash it with something warm. He felt her press a kiss to his temple and toss a throw over him. He knew she settled in the other chair in the room with her phone. But he was gone. 


	5. How You Get the Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks after the first time they hooked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NGL, I was a little disappointed at the reception of the last chapter - I really loved what I wrote... But no one really responded. 
> 
> Anyway, I wanted to put this one out. Maybe get some kind of feedback. I have the next chapter drafted. We'll see if I can get it written this weekend. 
> 
> So yeah. Feedback makes the muse work faster! :)

* * *

_Chapter 4 - How You Get the Girl_

It was rare Oliver had a Saturday morning completely to himself. 

He had plans to meet Thea for a late lunch, and then dinner plans with his mother, but somehow he’d managed to have the morning completely free. 

Already that morning he’d gotten in a seven mile run and met his friend-slash-head of QI security at the gym for a workout. After his shower he’d made a list of errands he needed to run before meeting Thea. At the top of that list was dropping his phone off to be looked at. He’d been having trouble for nearly a week now. 

Oliver knew he could’ve left it with someone in IT or the Applied Sciences department at QI, but it wasn’t his work phone. This was his personal phone and not their responsibility. No, he could run in, drop it off, and then pick it up after they’d figured out the problem. Anyone who needed him would call his business cell if it was important. And if they didn’t have his business cell, then they weren’t important enough to really need him. 

But first, coffee. 

He was in desperate need of an Americano and there was an excellent independent coffee shop two blocks from his apartment. 

Oliver opted to leave the Bentley in the parking deck. He didn’t think he’d need it until it was time to meet Thea. He left his apartment in jeans, a gray henley, and his brown leather jacket. It was fall in Washington, but still warm enough that he could get by without a winter coat. He did wear his motorcycle boots, but that was just a personal preference. Oliver hid his eyes behind a pair of Wayfarers, but did nothing else to conceal his identity. 

The paparazzi mostly left him alone since they’d realized he wasn’t the bar-hopping party boy of yesteryear. And while his… activity had picked up recently, Oliver had learned to be discrete. He never brought anyone to his apartment. There was only a small group of women he trusted. Women he knew he could turn to and wouldn’t sell him out. Plus, with money came the ultimate discretion. 

He hadn’t paid anyone since Felicity, but he wasn’t above buying pictures or a story to keep himself out of the news. And the women were all people he’d grown up with, and while not part of his social circle, they’d been on the edges for awhile. 

Besides, it was expected of him. It was no secret his father kept a mistress for most of his parents’ marriage. And when Oliver finally settled down, he would ultimately have one too. It was just what happened with their class of people.

There was a line at PRESS, so he stepped up behind the blonde in front of him. Her head was down, looking at her phone. Oliver watched as she shifted from foot to foot, her curly blonde ponytail swinging softly. He let his eyes drift down her back. She was very petite, but curvy. And her ass… it reminded him a lot of Felicity’s. Full and round. 

He sighed. Since that one night with Felicity three weeks ago he’d only seen her once at Verdant. She’d been working and he’d acted like an ass. When he’d told Tommy they should bring her on as an escort, he hadn’t considered what it would be like seeing her with clients. And she was definitely popular. Like she’d told him that night, she was smart and funny. Oliver already knew she was charming. And she oozed sex appeal. 

It was too late for them, though. He’d fucked it up the minute he asked to sleep with her. 

The not-Felicity placed her order and moved down to wait for her drink. Oliver stepped up and ordered his Americano. He quickly paid and stepped aside. When he moved away, he caught the blonde looking at him, her lips formed in an ‘O’... “Felicity?” 

“Mr. Queen?” 

She looked completely different. If he hadn’t caught her face, he never would have recognized her. “Oliver,” he reminded her. “What’re you doing here?” His eyes ran over her. Not only was her hair pulled back in a ponytail (he’d never seen it like that before), but she was wearing two-tone glasses. Her make-up was light. And was she wearing flats? 

“I live not too far from here.” She turned away when the barista called out her drink. Oliver made a mental note of her vanilla soy latte with a shot of caramel. “What about you?” 

“Same. And errands.” 

Felicity smiled at him. “Small world.” 

The same barista called out his Americano. Oliver stepped forward to get it. “Would you like to sit? Have coffee with me?” 

A look crossed her face, and Oliver thought she might reject him. “You don’t hav—” 

“No, it’s fine. I don’t have anywhere to be.” She gestured to a table. “Is over there good?” 

“Lead the way.” What were the chances? And exactly where did she live? There were a lot of places that could be _not too far_ from downtown Starling City, and he really wanted to know specifics. 

Oliver took the empty seat across from her. She had already pulled a napkin from the holder and was shredding the corners. “How are you?” 

“What?—Oh, good.” She smiled at him. “I’m good. It’s so weird seeing you here.” Felicity looked around. “I come here at least four times a week and I’ve never seen you here before.” 

“I’m usually at work by now.” He lifted a shoulder. “And Thea or Mom have my weekends planned to the nth degree, if I let them. This is a rare Saturday morning.” 

“Thea?” she repeated. “Is she your—” 

“Sister,” Oliver cut her off. “Thea is my sister. She’s 18.” He fished his phone from his pocket and entered his password. It was no surprise that Thea was the last picture he’d taken. “That’s her.” 

Felicity took the phone from him. She smiled down at the screen. The brunette was beaming at someone. “She’s beautiful.” As she held the phone, Felicity noticed a static roll across the screen. “I think there’s something wrong with your phone.” 

“Yeah.” Oliver sighed. “I’m planning to drop it off in a few and see if they can take care of that.” 

“I can take a look,” Felicity offered. Her face colored. “I mean—Uh, you don’t know this, but I’m pretty good with technology.” When he hesitated, she handed the phone back to him. “Nevermind.” 

“No, no.” He pushed the phone back into her hand. “If you’re sure, I guess. It definitely can’t hurt.” 

Immediately he knew that was the right thing to say, as Felicity took the phone and started tapping on the screen. “First, I need to figure out if it’s a software or hardware problem. If it’s software, then it’s probably a super easy fix. If it’s hardware then it might be a little more complicated.” 

“Complicated?” he repeated. 

Felicity looked up. “Don’t mind me. Just talking to myself. And not complicated bad. I can handle complicated when it comes to a cell phone.” 

As he sat and watched her, drinking his coffee, Oliver remembered all of the reasons he’d been completely taken with her in the first place. She hadn’t been lying when she called herself smart. How did she know how to do any of these things? 

While she worked, Oliver tried to keep up a steady conversation with her, but it was hard. Her attention was divided and she was obviously focused on the phone in her hand. But she didn’t seem to mind and he was enjoying just being in her presence. It wasn’t completely lost on him that he’d kept his distance since that night three weeks ago. Oliver refrained from asking if she had any regrets or second thoughts. But he managed to keep that question to himself. 

He wasn’t a teenage girl, after all. 

“Finished!” she announced. Felicity pressed the button for a system reboot and slid it across the table to him. “Should be good as new.” 

Oliver checked the progress of the line across the screen. “Thank you.” When the line finished and his home screen opened, he looked up. “How’d you know how to do all that?” 

“Just some things I picked up along the way.” Felicity glanced at her watch. Wow, had it really been 35 minutes since they sat down. 

“Can I pay you for your trouble?” he asked. 

“No way.” The blonde drank the last of her coffee. “I wouldn’t say no to another cup of coffee, however.” 

“Done.” Oliver stood. “Another vanilla soy latte with a shot of caramel?” 

“Yeah, that sounds great.” Felicity stood too. “I’m going to visit the restroom. I’ll be right back.” 

By the time she returned, Oliver was back at the table. He was sipping from his coffee and scrolling through his phone. “Sorry about that.” 

“Sure.” There was a chocolate muffin sitting beside her cup. “The barista said you liked those.” 

Her face colored. “I do.” Felicity reclaimed her seat. “I’m actually glad I ran into you. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, and I wasn’t sure how to get in touch.” 

“Oh? Is something wrong?” 

She shook her head. “No.” Her face colored. “It’s just—I can’t help but notice that you haven’t been back to Verdant since…” she trailed off. 

“I’ve been by,” he assured her. “Mostly on Sunday afternoon when I have the place to myself.” 

“Oh.” Maybe it was him, but she seemed to deflate a little. “I hope that isn’t because of—” 

“No,” he cut her off. “I may be the owner, but I trust the people who work for me. Tommy and I have been friends since birth, practically. And Sara and I know each other just about as well as two people can know each other.” Oliver saw her flinch at his description of the bartender, but there was no point in backtracking. His words were true. “Since I took over QI I’ve had less and less time for Verdant, so I usually come on Sunday afternoons and check the books versus the computer program to make sure everyone is going to get paid.” 

“You could have an accountant do that, you know.” Felicity took a long drink of her coffee and started to pick apart her chocolate muffin. “Or you could sell the club.” 

“I’ve considered it.” He hadn’t ever told anyone associated with the club that. Not even Tommy. “But it was the first real thing I had, outside of the Queen name. When I finished my MBA my dad was eager for me to join the family business, but I opted to open Verdant instead. Initially Tommy and I were going to be 50-50 partners, but it turned out his father was up to shady business and he lost a large portion of what they had before being carted off to prison. So I went all in and Tommy was my first hire.” 

“Hmm.” She took a bite of the muffin. “And how did your father react?” 

“He didn’t speak to me for two years.” Oliver laughed, but it was humorless. “If only I’d known I would end up running QI in less than five years anyway…” 

She reached out and covered his hand. “Hey. Nobody knows the future. You didn’t know what was going to happen.” 

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those memories. “So do you like it there? Have you started to build a client base?” 

“Yes,” Felicity answered. She took another drink from her cup. “As for a client base? I don’t know. I don’t have any regulars, if that’s what you’re asking. I just kind of fill in where I’m needed.” 

“I see.” He didn’t really. A girl like her should have a man lined up every night of the week. It wasn’t something he could wrap his mind around. If she was his— “Listen, about that night…” 

“Oliver,” she interrupted. “It’s okay. I get it.” 

He frowned. “Get what?” 

“I’ve heard the gossip from some of the others. I’m a big girl. I wish you’d been a little more honest about it, but it’s not a big deal.” 

“What’re you talking about?” he questioned. “Gossip from the others?” 

“That you some times—” she looked left and right and then whispered, “ _hook up_ with some of the escorts.” Felicity shrugged. “I just wish you’d told me before, I guess. But then again, you did pay me.” 

Oliver felt his face turn red. He wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. More than likely a combination of both. This is what she’d been thinking for three weeks? “Felicity.” He closed his eyes. “Let me explain.” 

“It’s really okay,” she assured him. 

“No, it’s not.” He forced a smile. “Felicity, I do not _hook up_ with the escorts, no matter what you heard.” 

“But—” 

“Yes,” he continued. “I’ve had sexual encounters with some of them. Consensual sexual encounters that I should have made them all sign NDAs about, it seems. But it wasn’t… I didn’t… we weren’t.” 

“Oliver, it’s okay,” the blonde tried again. 

“It’s not.” His voice was louder that time. “You and I made a business agreement which was an exchange of services for money. I did not consider it a hookup.” 

“You didn’t?” 

“No.” Oliver made sure she was looking at him, and actually listening as he said his next words. “It’s something I want to continue, if you’re willing. The same services for the same money.” 

“I told you, I’m not a—”

“I know. And I told you this is a business agreement. An exchange of services for money.” He studied her carefully. “Is it something you would be willing to consider? 

Felicity fished her phone from a pocket and opened the contacts app. “What’s your number?” 

“Huh?” 

“I need to think about what you’re offering. So I’m going to take your number and I’ll be in touch. If that’s okay.” 

“Yeah, of course. 555-4345.” He watched her quickly enter the number on her touch screen. “Do I get to have your phone number?” 

“No.” She smiled at him. “You made an offer and now I get to consider my options.” 

Oliver returned her smile. “You know I can get it from the personnel files at Verdant, right?” 

“You could,” she agreed. “But you won’t.” Felicity stood and began to gather her trash. “I should probably get going. Things to do.” 

He stood too and stepped towards her. Oliver leaned down and pressed a kiss on her right cheek. “I’m glad I saw you today. This was nice.” 

“Bye.” 

“I’ll see you,” she replied. Oliver watched as she took her trash and dropped it in the receptacle by the door. Once she exited, she turned to the left and started down the street. 

Now all he could do was wait.   
  



	6. We Found Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver wants to take the next step in his relationship with Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the great feedback, friends! So we're moving away from the the early, early months of their relationship here - and... well, I guess you'll see. 
> 
> Chapter title is in reference to the Rihanna song. 
> 
> Still no beta - and I apologize for my inability to write sex scenes. Don't hold it against me. 
> 
> Hope everyone is staying safe out there! <3

* * *

_Chapter 5 - We Found Love_

Oliver knew from the way Felicity’s thighs were shaking that she was about to orgasm. And that said nothing about the sounds coming out of her. Even though her legs were clamped around his ears, he could still hear the gasps and moans, and occasional word escaping her. 

All of that made him pull her down tighter against his face and redouble his efforts to bring her off. He was able to maneuver a hand between them and get two fingers inside of her. After three pumps he felt her velvet walls tighten around them. Her thighs locked around his face and Oliver just accepted what she had to give him. 

When she finished, she collapsed against him and the headboard. He wasn’t sure how long it was before she rolled off of him and onto the other pillow. “Mmmm.” 

“Good?” he asked. Oliver didn’t bother to keep the cockiness out of his voice. He knew he was good at oral sex. He’d perfected his method at Harvard. It’s why he’d flunked out after his only semester. His hand drifted down. “Think you can go again?” 

Felicity batted at his hand. “Too sensitive right now.” Her eyes were closed. “But yes, you are very good at that.” 

“Oh, I think everyone on this floor knows that now. You’re not exactly quiet.” Oliver pushed himself up. “I’m going to get you a washcloth. Stay there.” 

“Not moving anytime soon.” She did open her eyes to watch him walk away. But who could blame her? He was totally naked. 

In the bathroom, Oliver stared at himself in the mirror. She hadn’t taken his bait about the whole floor hearing her, so what now? Plan B was to ask her to dinner at the Manor tonight and then casually bring her back to his penthouse… So maybe he should try that route? 

He warmed a washcloth under the tap for her and then rang it out. 

It’d been six months. He was ready to stop what they were doing and move into the light of day. 

But was Felicity? 

She was still on the bed when he returned to the bedroom. Oliver took his time and carefully cleaned her up. Her labia was swollen and her clitoris was engorged and sticking out. “How do you feel?” 

“Like I’ve been rode hard and put away wet.” She snickered. “But it was worth it.”

“Ha ha.” Oliver touched the tip of his index finger to her swollen clit. “Does that hurt?” 

Felicity shook her head. “No.” 

“Good.” He continued to manipulate the nub with his finger while he stared down at her. “The last thing I want to do is cause you pain.” She was starting to get slick again, so Oliver added another finger to help him spread the wetness around. “Will you tell me if it starts to hurt?” 

“Yes.” She lifted her hips up, seeking more friction. “I need—” 

“What do you need, honey?” 

She pressed her hips up again. “Something in me. Please,” she panted. 

He slid two fingers inside of her and moved his thumb to her clit. “I need something from you, Felicity.”

“Anything,” she gasped. “Want to cum.” 

Oliver leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. “I want you to cum, then.” He wrapped his teeth around her bottom lip and tugged, then soothed it with his tongue. “Go ahead, honey, cum for me.” He pressed against her clit hard and accelerated the fingers inside of her. “C’mon.” 

Felicity wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him, her tongue invading his mouth. His fingers mimicked the movements of her tongue and she rocked her hips against him. She jerked her mouth away from his and started pressing open mouth kisses against his neck.

Oliver felt her inner muscles squeeze him, but this orgasm wasn’t accompanied by a loud exclamation but a gentle exhale into his neck. He thought he heard her whisper _I love you,_ but he wasn’t sure. His heart contracted at the thought. 

He pulled his fingers out of her with a wet sound and Felicity released the vice grip on his neck. She laid back on the bed, a blissed out expression on her face. “Hmmm. Thank you.” 

“I want you to meet my family,” he blurted out. “Tonight.” 

Her blue eyes popped open. “What?” 

“I didn’t mean to ask you like that.” 

“You didn’t ask me at all.” She sat up and reached for the discarded washcloth from before. “So much for the afterglow, huh?” Felicity wiped herself down vigorously, and then got out of the bed. He watched her disappear into the bathroom and a minute later he heard the toilet flush. When she returned she was wearing one of the hotel provided robes. “Would you like to start over?” 

“I need a minute.” Oliver took his turn in the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his hands. He was semi-erect, so there wasn’t much he could do with his cock other than try to hide it under the robe. When he returned, Felicity was sitting in the suite’s living area drinking a bottle of water. “I wanted to ask you if you’d like to come to Sunday dinner with my family tonight.” 

She scoffed. “I can imagine how that would go.” Felicity changed her voice, “Yes, Mrs. Queen, I’m the prostitute who’s been sleeping with your son for the last six months. So far I’ve banked about fifty thousand of your hard earned dollars.” 

“Felicity,” he warned. “Stop it.” 

Both of their faces were turning red; hers with embarrassment and his with anger. They were both silent as they waited for the tense moment to pass. 

“You know I hate it when you refer to yourself like that,” he said finally. “That’s not how I think of you at all.” 

The blonde shook her head. “I’m just stating the truth.” 

“No,” he vehemently denied. “You’re not.” Oliver stood and walked to the area behind the sofa. “Don’t you understand that I don’t give a shit that you work at Verdant? That I don’t give a shit how much I have to pay you each time we see each other? You could have said ten thousand that first night and I would have paid it, because from the moment we met I was _hooked._ I just wanted to know more about you, and the more I know—at least what you _let me_ know—only leaves me wanting to know even more. So I’m not going to sit around and listen to you say nasty things about—” 

“Oliver,” she interrupted. 

“No,” he continued, “I listen to you talk all the time. About absolutely nothing. So it’s your turn to listen to me. We’ve been _fucking_ for six months, Felicity, and the only reason I know you were born in July is because of your employment records from Verdant. I know that you’re good at technology because you fixed my phone that time. But when I tried to talk to you about it again? You shut me down. I don’t know anything about your family. I mean, I know you’re from Vegas, so I assume you have some family out there somewhere. 

“What did you do in Boston? Why were you there? How did you end up in Starling City? Why here? I know why you said you picked Verdant—” 

“Oliver,” Felicity yelled. “Stop it!” He stopped talking mid-sentence. “I’ll tell you three things. My choice. The other things… you just have to wait.” 

He fell silent. Oliver knew she was offering him an olive branch, and it was up to him to accept it. Finally he said, “Three things and you’ll come to dinner with me tonight?” 

“If I come to dinner with you, you can’t pay me anymore.” Felicity stood and crossed her arms. “If we cross this line—blur this line, whatever. Then no more exchange of sex for money. The business relationship ends.” 

His face paled. “But we’ll still—” He glanced towards the bedroom and swallowed. 

“Have sex?” Felicity finished for him. She shrugged. “Maybe.” 

“Felicity.” He looked at her, his eyes wide and pleading. “Are you being serious?” 

The blonde smiled. “You’ll have to take me out and seduce me, just like every other male in America.” 

Oliver felt his face change. “Are you suggesting we… date?” 

She lifted a shoulder. “Well, if I’m meeting your family already?” Felicity looked down. “Seems like we’re already dating.” 

“Okay,” he agreed. “Three things. You pick.” 

“One, I’m not a natural blonde.” She held up a strand of her hair. “Brunette.” 

“Oh, I knew that already.” Oliver let his eyes slide down to where the robe was covering her. “You keep yourself trimmed, not bare.” 

“Oh. I hadn’t considered that.” Felicity could feel how red her face was. “Uh, B, I’m an only child, so no brothers or sister.” 

“Gotcha.” He walked around the sofa and sat. “And third?” 

“And last, I was in Boston for school.” 

He slid a hand around her waist and tugged. “Cool, where? I did a semester at Harvard before I flunked out.” 

Felicity reached for the belt on her robe. “Nope. You don’t get that.” It was the last thing she said before they were more pleasantly engaged. 

They were greeted at the door of the Manor by Raisa, the Queen’s longtime housekeeper and Oliver’s one-time nanny. She continued to have a special place in Oliver’s heart. 

“My sweet boy,” she greeted him. Raisa pressed kisses to both of his cheeks. “And you brought a lady friend?” 

Oliver pulled Felicity forward by her hand. “Raisa, this is Felicity, my girl—uh, friend.” 

“Girlfriend?” Raisa asked. She looked at Felicity and then back at Oliver. “Mister Oliver hasn’t brought one of those home in a long time.” 

Felicity smiled. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” She accepted the cheek kisses and then stepped back, elbowing Oliver in the side. 

“We’re here for dinner, Raisa.” Oliver told the older woman. “Is Mom in the dining room?” 

“Yes, sir. Along with Miss Thea and Mister Tommy. We’re still waiting on Mr. Steele to arrive.” 

He took Felicity’s hand and led her toward the dining room. They walked slowly as she took in the splendor of his childhood home. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that Tommy and Walter would be joining us tonight.” 

“I don’t mind Tommy. But who is Walter?” Felicity asked. 

“He’s the CFO at QI. He was my dad’s right hand man, and basically he’s the person who has kept the company aloft since I’ve taken over.” He grimaced. “I might have all the Queen charm, but I definitely did not get the business acumen.” 

Felicity reached for his cheek. “I’m sure that’s not true. Everything I read indicates QI is doing great.” 

Oliver felt his expression change. “You...you read about QI in the paper?” 

She shrugged. “Not in the paper, no. But on tech blogs, yes. And they say mostly nice things about QI’s playboy CEO.” 

“Har, har. _Reformed_ playboy CEO,” he corrected. 

At that moment, Raisa led Walter up the hall behind them. Oliver shifted so that Felicity was beside him, not pressed against him. “Walter, it’s good to see you.” He extended the hand that wasn’t wrapped around the blonde. 

“Oliver, my boy.” Walter took the extended hand, but his attention had already shifted to the woman beside his protege. “And who is this lovely lady?”

“This is Felicity, my girlfriend.” The word was easier to get out that time. 

“Felicity Smoak, sir,” she answered. She extended her hand for him to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Smoak.” Walter frowned. “Your name sounds very familiar, my dear. Have we met before?” 

“I don’t believe so?” Felicity answered. “I think I would remember that.” 

“Hmmm.” Walter dropped her hand. “That’s a quandry, then.” He turned back to Oliver. “Well, shall we? I’m sure your mother is waiting.” 

“Absolutely.” Oliver pressed his hand to Felicity’s back to lead her to the dining room. When they arrived, he was unsurprised to find that his mother had switched out the long table for the family table that sat six people comfortably. His mother had already claimed one end, and Walter took the seat to her right. Thea was to her left. Oliver knew the other end was for him. At one time it’d been his father’s chair. Felicity would be on his right and Tommy on his left. “Hello, family,” he greeted. 

Everyone exchanged hugs and small greetings before returning to their seats. Oliver made a point to introduce Felicity to his mother and Thea individually. While his relationship with his mother was… difficult, at best, he didn’t want to make things awkward for Felicity or Thea. 

Once they were seated, Raisa and the other hired help began to bring out the food. His mother was good enough to wait until _after_ they finished before she began her interrogation. 

“So, Felicity, tell me about yourself,” she started. 

“Mom,” he protested. Oliver reached over and refilled Felicity’s wine glass. He’d asked Raisa specifically to bring out the Lafite Rothschild for them. “I don’t want you to scare this one away.” 

The whole table laughed, including Felicity. “What would you like to know, Mrs. Queen?” 

“For starters, how long have you been seeing my son?” The Queen matriarch reached for her own wine glass. 

“Oliver and I met about six months ago,” Felicity answered truthfully. She glanced at Oliver. 

“At Verdant,” he supplied. They hadn’t discussed what to tell everyone about how they met, and with Tommy there, it was pointless to lie. “Felicity and I met when she applied for a job at Verdant.” 

Moira Queen frowned. “And did you… get that job?” 

“Yes,” Felicity answered. “I did. I’m still working at Verdant.” The table went silent at her admission.” She grasped Oliver’s hand. “Where I entertain clientele in the nightclub, and nowhere else. Which is on the up and up, and Tommy can tell you I’ve never gone home with any of the clients there, it’s just not something I’m interested in.” 

She paused momentarily. “Not that I think that there’s anything wrong with it, honestly. A woman should get to enjoy sex as much as a man can, and honestly if she’s making money doing it, more power to her.” Felicity clamped a hand over her mouth in order to stem her words. 

Oliver rubbed his hand against her thigh. That could have gone better. But it could have gone worse.

“And your mother?” his mother queried. “What does she think of your job?" 

“She’s not bothered by it,” Felicity answered. She reached for her wine glass. “Since she died ten months ago.” 

Everything in the house stopped. Oliver was sure they even stopped breathing. That wasn’t something he’d known about her. He never would’ve pressed her about her family earlier if he’d known. 

“Felicity—” he tried, but she shook her head. Instead, he looked at Walter and struck up a conversation about QI. Beside him, Oliver was very aware that Felicity was not eating. She would take a bite here or there, but she was mostly drinking her wine and moving the food on her plate. 

He was grateful that Thea was beside her, as the one person she’d talked to since her admission was his sister. Although he knew his mother would object, Felicity would be good for Thea. Oliver continued to rub his hand up and down her thigh, trying to offer comfort where he could, as he attempted to follow the conversation with Walter. 

The CFO was talking about something from the Applied Sciences department, and Oliver was really struggling to follow. It was a processor that was being developed by another company that Walter wanted him to acquire, but why couldn’t they just develop the processor themselves? 

“Excuse me,” Felicity interrupted, “Are you talking about the HELIX processor that Unidac Industries developed?” 

“Yes,” Walter answered. He glanced over at Oliver. “You’ve heard of it?” 

“One of the guys I went to college with got an internship at the company that developed it. They were in early phases at that time, but Myron was incredibly impressed. Said there was nothing like it being developed anywhere else in the world.” If she knew all other conversations had stopped, she didn’t bring attention to it. “Myron made it seem like it was NSA level. He described it as capable of running the program that they run in that superhero movie about the bat guy. I’m kind of surprised the government hasn’t swooped it yet, honestly.” She glanced at Oliver. “If QI has the chance to buy it, you should.” 

Huh. Now that was a surprise. 

“Where did you go to college?” Walter asked. 

“Oh, I went to MIT until I lost my scholarship.” She blushed. “I wasn’t able to graduate, but I was studying Computer Sciences and Cybersecurity.” 

“You lost your scholarship?” Oliver questioned. “You never mentioned that.” 

Felicity looked up at him. “Didn’t seem important?” 

“That’s where I know your name from!” Walter exclaimed. “You’re the Felicity Smoak that finished second in the National Information Technology competition.” 

“Yep, that’s me.” She reached for her fork and shoved a bite of food into her mouth. 

Oliver just stared at her. He could feel the rest of the table looking at him, but he didn’t have any answers for them. He’d learned a lot of things about Felicity tonight, but the two most important things weren’t things she’d told him. They were things she’d told other people and he’d just been there to hear. So what did that mean? 

Would she have told him about her mother if his mother hadn’t pressed her into it? And about MIT if Walter hadn’t asked? What else didn’t he know about her? 

Better yet, what _did_ he know about her? 


	7. Fix You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity share some of their pasts with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no willpower when it comes to holding things back. I'm always impressed when author's do. Plus, you know, quarantine. Fic makes quarantine slightly better.
> 
> This chapter is +5 months after the last one. But it does directly address some of the things that happened in that chapter. 
> 
> Again - no beta. I send it to her, but never wait to see if she has any suggestions (plus I know she's crazy busy). All mistakes are mine! And the song _Fix You_ is a classic by Coldplay.

* * *

_Chapter Six - Fix You_

Oliver eased the Bentley into his parking space. It was after seven and he’d been at work since eight that morning. He and Walter were trying to negotiate the purchase of Unidac Industries which meant long, long days. Between QI and Verdant he was working seven days a week, with no time for anything or anyone else. All he wanted was to get upstairs, shower, eat and fall into bed. 

It’d been three days since he’d last spoken to Felicity on the phone. Longer than that since he’d seen her. He knew from pictures Thea had texted him they got lunch a few days ago. He was glad his girlfriend and sister were getting along so well. 

Maybe if he was lucky he could catch her on the phone after his shower. 

He grabbed his messenger bag from his passenger seat and climbed from the car. He acknowledged the guard on duty, and walked straight to the elevator. Oliver pressed the button for his floor and swiped his access card. This building had three penthouse lofts, but his was the entire top floor. Only a person with an access card could get in. Felicity had told him that a biometric reader would be a safer option, but that seemed like overkill to him. 

The penthouse was quiet when he entered, not that he expected anything else. Thea had a room there, so sometimes he’d find her on the couch studying. But she was dating Roy now, so it seemed she was spending less and less time either here or at the manor. Oliver made a mental note to find out where Roy lived. Raisa kept the kitchen stocked, but she’d already been by that week. The light in the kitchen was on, and Oliver wasn’t sure if he’d left it on or not when he’d left that morning. 

He dropped his keys and bag on the bar and headed for the stairs and his room. What appealed to him about this place was the view of the city from the bedroom. The entire south wall was made from glass. But none of that compared to the view _in_ his bedroom at that moment. 

Because in his bed, snuggling his pillow, was Felicity. She was asleep, and judging from the line of drool from her mouth she had been for some time. She’d brought an overnight bag and left it at the foot of the bed. Oliver felt his heart squeeze. Months ago, he’d offered her space in his closet and drawers, but she’d turned him down flat. He could count on one hand the number of times she’d spent the night with him. She’d been to his penthouse numerous times, but she always made a point of calling an Uber or Lyft to get home the same night. 

And now she was here. Was it because she missed him the same way he missed her? It was Friday night, so she was expected at Verdant. Oliver dug his phone from his pocket and snapped a picture. 

**Oliver, 7:27p:** _In case you’re missing someone tonight, I found her._

He didn’t want to wake her yet, so he took his phone into the bathroom and started to undress. His suit would need to be sent to the cleaners, so Oliver dropped it on the floor. His phone vibrated again while he waited for the shower water to heat. 

**Tommy, 7:29p:** _She called earlier and asked if she could have tonight off. Sounded a little upset, I thought…? Take care of her._

Oliver frowned. Upset? She hadn’t been upset when they talked Tuesday night, and the texts they’d exchanged hadn’t given anything away either. But Felicity played everything extremely close to her chest, so it’s possible that Tommy picked up on something. 

His shower was functional, but quick. Before he’d known Felicity was there, he might have spent longer under the hot spray and let it work on his tired muscles, but now he was worried about what Tommy might’ve heard. His girlfriend and best friend had developed their own friendship after working together for almost a year and Oliver knew that Tommy cared about Felicity. Actually, everyone at Verdant cared about Felicity. It brought a level of calm to Oliver, because he could not be there and watch her entertain other men night after night. As much as he trusted Felicity, Oliver knew he’d lose it on some schmuck if he saw some strangers hands on her. The one time he’d tried to watch her work, Diggle had to be called to come pick him up after Sara got him drunk as a skunk to distract him from what was happening. And it still didn’t stop him from humiliating Felicity. 

He climbed out of the shower and dried off with a towel. Felicity was still asleep, so he dressed quickly in sweatpants and t-shirt before he went back to the bed. As tempting as it was to climb in beside her and wrap his body around hers, Oliver knew he should wake her. Tommy’s words were bouncing around his head. 

Oliver leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Wake up,” he whispered. He kissed down the bridge of her nose, then to her left cheek. “Wake up.” He felt her face react as he pressed kisses to her jaw. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.” 

“Mmmm,” she sighed. 

He kissed her lips. “So I got home from work and found Goldilocks sleeping in my bed.” Oliver kissed her again. “And she looks good enough to eat.” 

Felicity laughed. “Are you Papa Bear or the Big Bad Wolf in this fairytale?” 

“I’m your knight in shining armor, Princess, always.” He pulled back to study her face. Her eyes were slightly swollen, like she’d been crying. “It’s good to see your face.” 

“It’s good to see your face, too.” She leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “How long have you been here?” 

“About 20 minutes. Long enough to shower.” Oliver leaned over and showed her his wet hair. “I was going to order out, but I think I might cook. Unless you want to order out?” 

The blonde shook her head. “No. Please cook.” She looked away from him. “I think I might shower.” 

Oliver turned her face back to him. “Hey. What’s wrong?” 

“Today is—” she exhaled loudly, then swiped at the tears in her eyes. “Sorry, I thought I could handle this. Today is my mom’s fortieth birthday.” Felicity looked away. “I’m sorry, I’m a mess.” She swiped at her eyes again. “This isn’t even the first birthday since, you know, but for some reason this one is hitting me hard.” 

“Hey.” Oliver pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to feel however you feel about it.” 

Since her calm explanation that her mother was dead at dinner months ago, they hadn’t really talked about what happened. Felicity hadn’t offered and Oliver sometimes felt like he was walking on eggshells with her, at least emotionally. He’d put effort into just taking her on dates and enjoying being with her in public. Occasionally she’d drop a tidbit about her life prior to Starling City and he’d file it away, but it was clear she wasn’t ready to open up. So he waited. 

“Why don’t you shower?” he offered. “I’ll go see what I can make us to eat and then we’ll find something on TV.” 

“Okay,” she agreed. She climbed from the bed and got halfway across the room before she turned around. “Thank you.” 

“I didn’t do anything, Felicity.” She was wearing one of his old Starling City Rockets t-shirts. It hit her mid-thigh. 

“Just being you, then.” The blonde disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. 

What did she mean by that? And was it good or bad? Oliver scrubbed a hand down his face. He listened as the water in the bathroom turned on and sighed. He needed to go downstairs and figure out what he was cooking for dinner. 

Raisa restocked his kitchen every Wednesday, so Oliver knew he could make pretty much anything he wanted. But he needed something quick. He’d seen Felicity eat, and she had a healthy appetite, but he also knew she didn’t eat in uncomfortable situations. It was imperative he make something that appealed to her. And wine. He needed a good wine. Fortunately he’d made an effort to improve his wine cabinet since knowing Felicity. 

Ultimately he decided on cooking chicken cordon bleu. He had a California Pinot he wanted to try. The wine guy for Verdant had recommended it. 

“Hey,” Felicity greeted him from the living room. She was still wearing his t-shirt, but she’d added a pair of black leggings. “I’m out.” 

“Do you feel better?” he questioned. Her eyes were still red, so Oliver wondered if she’d cried more in the shower. 

“A little.” She took a seat at the bar. “Whatcha cookin?” 

“Cordon bleu. It’s been in the oven for about 15 minutes, so maybe 20 more?” he guessed. “I have a Pinot I want to try with it.” Oliver slid the bottle over. “Do you want a glass now?” 

“Actually, can you make me a margarita?” she asked. “Heavy on the tequila.” 

“Sure.” That was an unusual request. He’d never seen her with a mixed drink before, but it wasn’t unheard of. The girls at Verdant usually had one or two each night. But Felicity loved her red wine. “Any particular flavor?” He opened his cabinet. “Thea has lime, strawberry, and peach syrup.” 

“Just lime is fine,” she answered. “And isn’t Thea like 19? You let her drink here?” 

“Guilty. But only mixed drinks and wine.” He made a face. “Besides, she’s going to do it anyway. And I know what I was up to at 19, so it could be so much worse.” 

“Oh really?” Felicity shifted on the stool. “What were you up to at 19?” 

As Oliver added the ingredients to the cocktail shaker, he talked. “Let’s see. By the time I was 19, I’d been kicked out of both Harvard and Princeton after one semester at each. I’d been arrested for peeing on a cop _and_ for stealing a taxi—” 

“Wait,” she interrupted. “First off, you peed _on_ a cop. Ew. And you stole a taxi? You know they take you wherever you want to go, right?” 

He laughed. “The cop was trying to arrest Tommy for disturbing the peace, so I thought I’d create a distraction.” He grinned at her. “It worked. As for the taxi… I don’t remember? I was with Tommy, again. I’m not sure whose idea that one was.” 

“You two are nothing but trouble,” she commented. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “That was a great summer. Then my dad stuck me at SCU so he could _keep an eye on me_ and Mr. Merlyn sent Tommy to Stanford and threatened to cut him off. That was the end of it.” 

“I thought SCU was your fourth college, not your third.” Felicity frowned. “I’m sure I read that in an online bio somewhere. 

“Well, SCU kicked me out after my first semester, too. Then my parents bankrolled an endowment and got me back in, so I can understand the confusion. It stuck that time, fortunately. Got my Bachelors and, with a little pressure from Dad, my MBA.” Oliver finished the margarita and slid it over to her. “The lady asked for a margarita, extra tequila.” 

She took a sip, then a longer swallow. “This is good. You should open a club,” she teased. 

“Ha.” Oliver busied himself cleaning up the ingredients he used. “So that’s my history in a nutshell.” 

“Wait, what changed between you being kicked out of SCU and the endowment? Did they threaten to cut you off or something?” Felicity frowned. “Would that have even worked for you?” 

“I don’t know,” he answered. “And no, they didn’t.” Oliver sighed. “I got a girl pregnant. When I was 20. In the time when I was living at home, doing nothing, after being kicked out of SCU.” 

“Oh.” 

“I mean, I don’t have a kid out there or anything. She lost it, but for that week…” He shook his head. “I wasn’t ready to be a dad, I knew that. But it really changed my perspective on some things. It made me reconsider what I was doing with my life, I guess. So when I was given the opportunity to re-enroll at SCU, I took it as a real second chance and did things differently.” 

“And the girl?” the blonde asked. “What happened to her?” 

“Huh?” he frowned. “Oh, her name was Samantha. Uh, she withdrew from SCU. She was actually my girlfriend’s friend, so, yeah that was…” Oliver rubbed a hand down his face. “Anyway, she moved back to Central City with her parents. I lost track of her.” 

“I see.” Felicity took the last swallow from her drink. If she was thinking anything, she didn’t share it with Oliver. “I graduated high school at sixteen, and went straight to MIT. I skipped kindergarten and then finished high school in three years, so I was two years younger than everyone. Mom didn’t understand why I had to go so far away, but MIT was my _dream._

“Mom wanted me to go to UNLV, of course. Or at least some place in Nevada, but there’s just not a lot of choices there, and there’s nothing like MIT when it comes to computer science.” She looked at him. “Berkley, Cal Tech, CMU, and Stanford are all good, but they’re not MIT.” 

“Spoken like a true alumni,” Oliver quipped. “But you don’t have to justify your decision to me.” 

“It was all moot, anyway. MIT gave me a full ride, and none of those other places did.” She hesitated. “And I needed a full ride. Mom and I… we lived paycheck to paycheck. She worked as a cocktail waitress in various casinos through the years, sixty to eighty hours a week, to pay for me to go to private middle and high school. My dad split when I was a kid. He’d send money here and there, but never anything we could count on.” Felicity sighed. “I just knew that a scholarship to MIT would let her finally work a normal schedule and have days off like other people do. Even if we were 2,000 miles from each other.” 

As he listened, Oliver pulled the chicken from the oven and plated it. He poured them both a glass of wine. He moved his messenger bag from earlier and took the stool next to her at the bar. “So you thought you were helping her, even if you weren’t there with her. That’s very generous of you. But what happened?” 

“Like I said, I was 16 when I started. And college is expensive. My scholarship covered tuition, fees, room, and board, but not books or any spending money. No one wanted to hire me because I was so young and from out-of-state. Because I was so young I didn’t fit in with any of the other students there. It was really lonely. 

“I fell in with the wrong crowd. Instead of blonde hair, I dyed it black. It’s when I got this,” she reached up and touched the bar in her ear. “I also had an eyebrow piercing.” Her hand drifted up to touch. “And a few others in some interesting places. Anyway, I went full on Goth.” 

“I bet you were a sight.” Oliver nudged her plate towards her. “Eat while it’s hot.” He watched as she picked up her utensils and started cutting her chicken. Cheese and ham oozed from the inside. She took a small bite. “Good?” 

“Yes,” she moaned. She used the side of her fork to slice into the roasted carrots and ate it too. “This too.” Felicity looked at him. “Handsome, successful, and he cooks. What a lucky girl I am.” 

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m the lucky one.” 

They continued to eat, exchanging small talk. Oliver filled her in about the Unidac merger and what he’d learned about the HELIX processor so far. Everything he’d learned from his Director of Technology only backed up what Felicity told him. The processor was a big deal and they were getting it for a steal. Oliver was shocked that Unidac was including it in the merger and hadn’t tried to sell it separately. He was also a little surprised that the NSA hadn’t swooped in and stolen the processor out from under them. 

When they finished dinner, Oliver wrapped up the leftovers while Felicity loaded the dishwasher. “Dessert?” she asked, hopefully.

Months ago he’d started adding pints of mint chip to the grocery list for her. Raisa kept the freezer fully stocked. “Grab a spoon.” While she did that, he topped off her wine and grabbed himself a bottle of water. When she had her ice cream, he took their drinks and led her to the living room. “Do you want to find something to watch?” 

Felicity scrunched up her nose. “Don’t you want me to finish telling you what I was telling you?” 

“Only if you want,” he answered. When she sat on the couch, he followed her. “Whatever makes you comfortable.” 

“Talking about your Mom dying isn’t comfortable, Oliver,” she answered. “But it’s necessary.” 

“Go ahead, then.” He opened the ice cream and handed it to her. “I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me.” 

Felicity nodded. “Thanks. So, I went full Goth and I fell in with the wrong people. But I didn’t care, because I had friends for the first time in my life who accepted me _because_ of how smart I was. I didn’t have to pretend to be bad at math or wear the kinds of dresses Mom always wore in order to get attention. 

“I met Cooper—” 

“Who’s Cooper?” Oliver interrupted. 

“Just listen,” she admonished. “You’ll see.” Felicity took a bite of the ice cream and then offered him a bite. “I met Cooper through Myron. I think I’ve mentioned him before? He’s the one who interned at Unidac?” At his nod, she continued. “Cooper was… he was different than anyone I’d ever met before. Handsome, funny, and so damn idealistic that I was sure he was going to change the world. Coop and Myron both belonged to this group of activists that were hackers. You know, like Anonymous?” 

“Anonymous?” he repeated. “I think I’ve heard of them. Or maybe Thea has mentioned them?” 

“They’re a loosely linked group of international hacktivists that target governments, government organizations, corporations, and the Church of Scientology.” He laughed. “What?” 

“All of the rest of them make sense, then you have the Church of Scientology.” At her look, he shook his head. “Sorry.” 

“No, I get it.” Felicity smiled at him. “So Coop and Myron invited me to join them, to be hacktivists. And I was flattered, and excited to _finally_ be a part of something, so I agreed. What I didn’t realize was that they asked me to join because I was better at writing code than either of them, so they needed me.” 

“What’s code?” 

“Hmmm.” She reached for her wine glass. “It’s where you take directions and put it in a language the computer understands, since computers and people don’t speak the same language usually. I mean, you and I speak English and computers speak binary.” 

“Gotcha,” Oliver answered. “For the record, I speak English, Russian, Mandarin, and passable Arabic.” 

Felicity felt the crinkle between her eyebrows before it appeared. “Wait, what? How has this not come up before?” 

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m good at languages. Have been since I was a kid.” 

“Okay, but why not something useful like Spanish?” 

“Uh, Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world,” he answered. “And I do a lot of business in Russia and China. Both languages are very useful.” 

“What about Arabic?” she questioned. 

“It was just something I picked up,” he defended. “Speedy speaks Spanish. So does Tommy.” 

Felicity rolled her eyes. “But not you.” 

“I probably could, if I wanted. But if you haven’t noticed, I don’t have a lot of free time lately.” 

“That’s true,” she agreed. “For the record, no one _picks up_ Arabic.” Felicity shoved another bite of mint chip into his mouth to stop any reply. “Anyway, I joined them my sophomore year at MIT and then junior year Coop and I started dating. I found out spring break of that year that _Cooper_ was part of the elite class he was rebelling against. I went home with him and met his parents. He lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia, in a multi million dollar house. His mom was an executive at some pharmaceutical company and his dad was a doctor. It’d all been…” she hesitated. Felicity shook her head. “He just turned out to be a really fake person. 

“I kind of dropped out of the group, then. Broke up with Cooper, stopped hanging out with Myron and Alena. I went blonde, started wearing cardigans and mary janes. Entered the NIT competition. But it was too late. I’d already done something I’d come to regret.” 

Oliver wrapped an arm around her. “What happened?” 

“I wrote a x-axis bi-numeric algorithm, which is just a fancy name for a virus. I took the laptop I wrote it on when I left, but Coop had a copy of it on a flash drive and they used it to hack the Department of Ed. He planned to erase all student loan debt, but Myron pulled the plug before he could. Unfortunately, someone was able to back trace his hack and the FBI showed up. So he’d have a chance at parole in 15 years, Cooper gave me up as the author of the virus. The DOJ couldn’t prosecute since they couldn’t prove that I ever had any criminal intent, but MIT yanked my scholarship. Further, the Department of Ed barred me from ever receiving any federal financial aid because of what happened.” 

“Felicity,” he sighed. 

“Myron cut a deal with the feds, too,” she continued. “He spent five years in prison for agreeing to testify against Coop. And I’m not sure what happened to Alena. I know she didn’t graduate.” 

“Hey,” Oliver said softly. “Look at me.” He reached up and wiped at the tears. “This wasn’t your fault.” 

“So I hung around Boston for about a year, and appealed the decision. I tried to get MIT and the Department of Ed to reconsider, but neither of them would, so I finally moved back to Vegas. Back in with Mom. I took a job working at Tech Village. That was three years ago.” 

“Why don’t we take a break?” he suggested. Oliver stood and reached for the ice cream and her wine glass. “I’m going to make you another marg, and put this back in the freezer. And then we can find something on TV.” 

She didn’t say anything, but nodded her acceptance. Oliver retreated into the kitchen. The pint of ice cream had melted into a soupy mess, so he dropped it into the trash. He busied himself with washing her wine glass and then placing it on the drying rack. Next, he retrieved the supplies to make her another margarita. Oliver heard the door to the downstairs bathroom close and assumed Felicity had gone inside. He exhaled loudly. 

What a clusterfuck. Not Felicity, and not their relationship, but the things she’d been through. After he finished her drink, he poured himself a whiskey. He took both drinks and went back to the couch. When she rejoined him, Oliver could tell she’d splashed some water on her face. “You okay?” 

“Yeah.” She took the offered drink from him. “Thanks.” 

“So what’re you in the mood for tonight?” he reached for the remote control. “Comedy, action, thriller?” 

“I’d been with Mom for about a year and a half before she got sick,” she continued. “It was the flu.” Felicity rolled her eyes. “Everybody gets the flu, you know? But Mom and I are alike, and we both hate needles, so we always waited to get vaccinated. She was one of the first to get sick. She made me get vaccinated after that.

“But she never got completely well. Mom had lung problems from when she was young. So the flu eventually turned into pneumonia, which was eventually bad enough that they hospitalized her. And through it all, I’m having to work 40 hour weeks at Tech Village. Mom had insurance, because she’d been at Caesars forever, but she just wasn’t getting better. At some point, without talking to me, she signed a DNR. And then she was just gone.” Felicity took a deep breath. “I was at work. The hospital called to let me know it was probably going to be that day. But by the time I got there, it was too late.” 

Oliver wrapped her in his arms. “I’m so sorry.” He could feel her start to shake. “I’m sorry.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and just held her tighter. He knew there wasn’t anything he could say to make this better. He pried the glass she held and put it on the coffee table and pulled her into his lap. “Shhh, it’s okay.” 

“It’s not,” she sobbed. “She was always there for me, but I wasn’t there for her in those last moments.” 

“I’m sorry, honey.” He tightened his arms and held her. Oliver pulled the throw from the back of the couch and pulled it over them. “Shhh, it’s okay.” 

They lay there, together, until Felicity fell asleep. He thought about moving her to the bed upstairs, but ultimately decided against it. He could feel her small exhales against his neck. Oliver turned the TV on and muted it. He watched Sportscenter with the captions on until he fell asleep. 

She woke him in the middle of the night when she woke up. “Hey,” she whispered. Felicity pressed a kiss to his lips. “Wake up.” 

Oliver stirred. “Hmmm?” 

“Let’s go upstairs.” 

He stood and followed her to his bedroom. They brushed their teeth side by side in the bathroom. He retrieved his phone from where he’d left it on the bed and checked his messages. There wasn’t anything that wouldn’t hold until the morning. He set an alarm. Even if it was Saturday, he needed to go into the office after lunch. 

Felicity pulled off her leggings and crawled into the bed. She turned on her side, and then expelled a breath when Oliver curled around her. “Thank you.” 

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Of course.” He moved her hair and kissed her ear. “You have to know I’d do anything for you.” 

She reached back and pulled him closer. “I like you, too.” 

“Hmmm,” he sighed. “I more than like you. Love you, Felicity.” Oliver tucked his face into her neck. “Goodnight, Princess.” 

“Goodnight.” 

In the morning, Oliver made her French toast, bacon, and fresh squeezed orange juice. “How are you feeling?” 

Felicity nodded into her coffee mug. “I’ll be okay.” 

“I know you will,” he agreed. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.” He wondered if she’d heard him last night. She hadn’t reacted. He hadn’t meant to say the words, but they’d slipped out. He’d been keeping them to himself for months. “I want to ask you something, but I’m not sure how you’ll react.” 

She looked at him. “It’s not another marriage proposal, is it?” 

“No,” he laughed. “Besides, the next time I ask you to marry me will be the last time I ask.” 

“I’ll remember that.” The blonde smirked at him. “So what do you want to ask me?”

“Would you consider moving in with me?”

“Oliver—” 

“I have five reasons,” he interrupted. “Before you say no.” 

“What are they?” 

He held up his index finger. “First, it means I’d get to see you everyday, so that’s awesome. Second,” he continued with his next finger, “more sex. And I think we both know we’re good at the sex.” Oliver chose not to comment on her blush. “Third, we both know that you’re not that great of a cook, and I really don’t mind. But other than Thea spending the occasional night here, I don’t really have anyone to cook for. Four, it would make this place less lonely.” He made a sweeping motion. “I’m not sure how much you’ve explored, but I’ve got four bedrooms here and five bathrooms. One for me, one for Thea. You could have your own bedroom and ensuite if you wanted.” 

Felicity grinned. “What’s your fifth reason?” 

“Your neighborhood is Glades adjacent, and it’s not the safest,” he told her. “It’d make me feel better if you were here.” 

“Is that all?” she asked. 

“I thought those were pretty good reasons,” he answered. Oliver wiggled his whole hand at her. “I really thought one and two were enough.” 

“You’d really let me have my own bedroom? You weren’t kidding about that?” 

Oliver pushed his breakfast plate away. “Honey, if it means you’ll move in, I’ll let you have _two_ bedrooms.” He glanced at the clock. “If you want, I’ll show you the options right now. And I don’t need an answer today. Just something to think about.” 

“Yes,” Felicity told him. 

“Yes?” He felt himself grin. Oliver glanced at the clock again. It was almost 11 o’clock, and he promised Walter he’d be there around 1 that afternoon. “You’ll move in?” 

The blonde nodded. “Yes.” 

He rounded the bar and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you.” Oliver kissed her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. “Come upstairs with me. I want to show you those bedrooms.” 

“You know I was just kidding—” Her words were cut off with a moan when he took her earlobe between his teeth. 

“Come upstairs anyway,” he bargained. “We have to pick which room to christen first.” 

Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “What about Thea’s?” 

Oliver’s response was to laugh. Loudly. 


	8. Interlude 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a small interlude. 
> 
> Oliver and Felicity are beginning to transition into something more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, I gave myself a prompt and made myself respond - I've been a little stuck with this story lately, and wanted to move past where I was at. Or I wanted to write SOMETHING in this universe. So take this little piece of fic for what it is. Basically just fluff, set five months into their agreement, when feelings are starting to take place. 
> 
> As always, errors are mine. I literally wrote/edited this in two hours time. So it's probably a total mess.

* * *

_Interlude 1_

“Can I ask you a question?” 

“Depends.” Oliver adjusted the pillow beneath his head. “Does it require me to get out of bed? 

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “No. But you’re totally answering the door when the pizza gets here.” 

He sighed, pretending to be put out. “Fine. What’s your question?” 

“I read this article once that said the average person knows between 200 to 300 people, but only about ten people that really matter to them. I was laying here wondering who your ten would be?” 

Oliver turned to look at her. " _T_ _hat’s_ what you’re thinking about after what we just did?” He reached for her hip. “Clearly I didn’t exhaust you enough earlier.” 

She laughed. “You didn’t hear me complaining.” Felicity wiggled and adjusted the blanket over her breasts. “Stop stalling and answer the question. Who are your ten?” 

“If I tell you, will you tell me?” he bargained. 

“I’ll tell you _something,"_ she agreed. “I’m not sure I have ten people.” 

He wanted to protest and tell her _of course she did,_ but since she’d played her cards so close to the chest he didn’t want to press. This was only the second time she’d agreed to come to his apartment versus a hotel room in the five months they’d been doing whatever they were doing. Oliver was sure it was because today was Sunday, so neither of them had anywhere to be tonight. 

“My people are Mom, Thea, Tommy, Sara, Raisa, Laurel, you, John and his wife, Lyla.” Oliver frowned. “How many is that? I need one more, right? I’m sure I’ll think of someone.” 

“Who’s Raisa?” she asked. “I know Tommy and Sara. And Laurel is your ex.” 

“Raisa was mine and Thea’s nanny. She still works for my family.” He sighed. “And Laurel is… complicated.” 

Felicity shook her head. “You don’t have to explain it to me, Oliver. That’s not what this is.” 

“I feel like I need to, though.” Oliver sat up and looked at her. “Laurel and I were together from junior year of high school until I started business school, on and off. We tried again after my father died, when we finally admitted we just weren’t right for each other. I probably stopped being in love with her some time early in college, because I cheated on her all the time. But I’m always going to care about her and want good things for her.” 

“Hey.” She laid her hand on his arm. “I’m just the woman you’re paying to sleep with you. You don’t have to justify these things to me. That’s for the woman after me.” 

“Please tell me that’s not how you see yourself.” Oliver took her face between his hands. “Didn’t you hear me just now. I care about you. And I know you care about me too.” 

“I don’t do well depending on people,” she admitted. “When I was in elementary school, my dad put me on the school bus one morning and was gone by the time I got home that afternoon. He left a note to explain. And my relationship with my mom was...”

“I’m sorry.” 

Felicity shook her head. “Literally happened decades before I met you.” 

“Still, it sucks, and I’m sorry.” 

“I know I don’t have ten people. I have my Bubbe and Zayde, my friend Alena, Tommy on a good day, and you.” She looked away from him. “I’ve always been a little better with technology than with people, honestly. 

“Tommy told me how you fixed the system at the club when it crashed last week. He was impressed.” Oliver laughed. “I think he might have a friend-crush on you.” 

The blonde shook her head. “Tommy is a trip. And I’m working on a better system for the club, as I have time. The crappy standard system one you two bought isn’t worth the money you paid for it.” 

“You’re going to let us pay you,” he immediately answered. 

She bit her lip. “Oliver—” 

“We would pay anyone else,” he argued. 

“I’ll talk to Tommy about it,” Felicity agreed. “I know you well enough to know you’ll insist on paying me well above what it’s worth.” 

He grinned at her agreement. “Thank you.” Oliver leaned in to kiss her. “You do have me, by the way. And I’m here for as long as you want me.” 

As the kiss turned heated, a knock sounded on the door. 

Felicity pulled back. “Food’s here. I’m starving.” 

“Me too,” he agreed. Oliver stood and pulled on his boxers and a t-shirt. 

“I meant for food!” she called after him. 

His laugh echoed down the hall. When Oliver returned, he was carrying the pizza box, a roll of paper towels, a bottle of wine, and two small water glasses. “Dinner is served, m’lady.” 

They spread the food over the bed and sat, casually chatting. The heavier topic from before was put away for another time. When they both had eaten their fill, Oliver put the nearly empty box on the floor next to the bed and topped off both of their glasses. “Do you want to watch a movie?” Felicity glanced towards the clock on his nightstand, the bright neon letters reading 8:24, and then looked outside. It was dark. “Or do you need to get going?” he offered. 

“Do you mind if I stay the night?” the blonde asked. “If it’s not too much trouble, I know you have to work—” 

Oliver cut her off with a kiss. “Please, stay. 

**Author's Note:**

> When I decided to continue this, I changed the fic title. Kept the the original title as this chapter title.


End file.
